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A Look Ahead: With A Vengeance

Dallas_medium

Dallas Cowboys 
Where: Cowboys Stadium
When: Sunday October 25th, 2009 @ 4:15pm
Network: FOX
Why: Dallas has been our post-season achilles heel on more than one occasion. That, and the schedule makers were told by the competition committee to ensure the Falcons have the toughest road possible to their first ever back-to-back winning seasons.

Importance: Pay Attention. How our injury-laden defense plays against an offense of potential studs will help clear up the somewhat shady picture on our football future. If they show up, we can ease a bit of our worries.

Notes: Dallas is, without a doubt, a tough team. They are not, however, the uber-elite team everyone claims them to be. So far, the Falcons have not been able to get an extra-marquee road win. This game may help them achieve that goal.

The Falcons win if: they get adequate pressure on Romo, force some turnovers, and burst out of the gate guns-a-blazin' offensively. Chances of this happening with many of our starters down? 50/50. The past two Falcons games have started slow. Against the Bears, the Falcons had to (and thankfully did) play catchup successfully. Also, our D have to come together and be better than the assumed sum of their parts.

The Cowboys win if: our offense fails to get going and/or our defense fails to pick itself up from the injuries it's sustained.

Prediction: Falcons win a close one.

Saints_medium

New Orleans Saints

Where: Superdome
When: Monday November 2nd, 2009 @ 8:30pm
Network: ESPN
Why: Divisional Game

Importance: Serious Business. If we want the Division, we have to go through Brees and co.

Notes: New Orleans beat the Giants. Either the Giants are that bad, or the Saints are that good. Going with the latter. 

The Falcons win if: they play a flawless game while on the road and on the big MNF stage.

The Saints win if: they don't lay an egg.

Prediction: The Falcons lose, possibly by a bunch. The Saints are likely steamrolling their way to the big one.

Star-divide

Skins_medium

Washington Redskins 
Where: Georgia Dome
When: Sunday November 8th, 2009 @ 1:00pm
Network: FOX
Why: We need at least one guaranteed win this year!

Importance: Meh. This will get ugly. Ew.

Notes: We should win this. We will win this.

Prediction: Falcons demolish them.

Panth_medium

Carolina Panthers Part Deux
Where: Bank of America Stadium
When: Sunday November 15th, 2009 @ 1:00pm
Network: FOX
Why: Divisional Game

Importance: Serious Business, for obvious reasons.

Notes: The Panthers are slowly getting things back together. Expect Carolina, especially at home, to be a bit tougher

Prediction: Falcons win by the hairs on Baker's chinny-chin-chin.

Giants_medium 

New York Giants
Where: Giants Stadium
When: Sunday November 22nd, 2009 @ 1:00pm
Network: FOX
Why: To be the best, you have to beat the best. 

Importance: Pay Attention. The Giants’ running game is superb. Hopefully our D can stop it. A great midseason test.

Notes: Expect the Giants to run-run-run only to set up some mega bombs by the younger Manning. This will be tough, regardless of how our black and gold division rivals treated them.

Prediction: The Falcons lose, but manage to hang on till the 4th.

Bucs_medium 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 
Where: Georgia Dome
When: Sunday November 29th, 2009 @ 1:00pm
Network: FOX
Why: Divisional Game

Importance: Serious Business. Tampa sucks. If they have a win by now, it'll be by sheer luck alone.

Notes: The Bucs face the Patriots in London this week. They will not win. If they do...that Falcons loss to NE will stick in my craw the rest of my life.

Prediction: Falcons stomp 'em.

Eagles_medium 

Philadelphia Eagles
Where: Georgia Dome
When: Sunday December 6th, 2009 @ 1:00pm
Network: FOX
Why: Because Eagles and Falcons are natural enemies.

Importance: Serious Business. Lots of history here plus You Know Who returns to the ATL.

Notes: You Know Who returns to town, likely the 2nd QB on the roster (maybe even the first, if Reid continues to lose his mind). There'll be some tension, a protest or two, and lots and lots of turncoats in the Dome. The Falcons are looking for revenge for that debacle in 2004's NFC Championship. 

Prediction: Falcons finally get their revenge, and likely in some stylish fashion.

Saints_medium 

New Orleans Saints 2: Electric Boogaloo
Where: Georgia Dome
When: Sunday December 13th, 2009 @ 1:00pm
Network: FOX
Why: Divisional Game

Importance: Serious Business. No more joking around. The Saints will have the division title. A win here does, however, almost guarantee a wild-card berth if we can manage to finish out strong (a 3-1 finish would be nice).

Notes: Seriously, if New Orleans is not loss-less by now, this game will be huge. The Dome crowd may help things. Here's hoping they do. We're going to need all the help we can get if NO hasn't been touched.

Prediction: Falcons lose this one.

Jets_medium 

New York Jets 
Where: Giants Stadium
When: Sunday December 20th, 2009 @ 1:00pm
Network: FOX
Why: Because New Yorkers couldn’t get enough of us the first go round against the Giants.

Importance: Pay Attention

Notes: If I look at this logically, the Jets beat the Patriots, who we got thrashed by. The Jets lost to the Dolphins, who we destroyed. And now, the Jets have lost to...whom? And Sanchez is giving away free INTs too? If the Jets haven't collapsed by now, the Falcons will surely help them in their effort.

Prediction: Falcons win, possibly by a double digit margin if everything clicks.

Bills_medium

Buffalo Bills
Where: Georgia Dome
When: Sunday December 27th, 2009 @ 1:00pm
Network: CBS
Why: The Bills are expected to be better this year, especially with TO in the fold. They still suck, though.

Importance: Definitely Meh.

Notes:  Yeah, Buffalo's still Buffalo, and they'll be on our turf.

Prediction: Falcons win by a touchdown or more

Bucs_medium

Tampa Bay Buccaneers With a Vengeance
Where: Raymond James Stadium
When: Sunday January 3rd, 2009 @ 1:00pm
Network: FOX
Why: Divisional Game

Importance: Absolultely a Meh.

Notes: Tampa Bay may likely be looking for any win at this point in the season. Missing Gruden yet?

Prediction: Falcons win, even with third stringers. Yes, I said it.

Current season record: 4-1

Current season prediction: 12-4

tlozwarlock's Current Prediction record: 5-0. Feels good to be right.

0 recs  |  Comment 46 comments |

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Comments

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um

I’m good with most of it. I disagree on the aints. they may win on MNF, but no way in hell we lose at home to them. No way.

Life is a garden. Dig it!

by Hardcore Falcon on Oct 22, 2009 1:13 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Saints will run the NFC South table

Book it!

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by Saintsational on Oct 22, 2009 1:23 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

eww... who let him in?

Dave, I thought we had a guy at the door to keep this kinda company at bay.

know what you believe in and why you believe in it

by MentallyMIA on Oct 22, 2009 2:31 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

He's snoozing on the job

Either that or got in because he’s my evil black-and-gold wearing doppelblogger at Canal Street Chronicles.

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by Dave the Falconer on Oct 22, 2009 2:46 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

That's why they play the games

Just hope your boys don’t get complacent

by LetsGoFalcons on Oct 22, 2009 2:38 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

definitely a worry

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by Saintsational on Oct 22, 2009 11:23 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

If anyone's going to take a win from you guys

It’ll be us. Those are going to be some mighty intense games, my friend.

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by Dave the Falconer on Oct 22, 2009 2:45 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I really do agree with you Dave

I am very excited for the MNF game coming up. I am attending and I really do think it will be the closest game of the year for the Saints.

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by Saintsational on Oct 22, 2009 11:23 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I'm dreading it...

Does anyone remember our last two MNF games against NO?

1.) Free Mike Vick, and
2.) the Saints extravaganza

Not pretty. Maybe we can get some musicians to sing some ATL based songs and get us super-hyped before the game…

Maybe there is no Heaven. Or maybe this is all pure gibberish — a product of the demented imagination of a lazy drunken hillbilly with a heart full of hate who has found a way to live out where the real winds blow — to sleep late, have fun, get wild, drink whisky, and drive fast on empty streets with nothing in mind except falling in love and not getting arrested...Res ipsa loquitur. Let the good times roll.

by iRonin on Oct 23, 2009 3:58 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions   0 recs

Ya

We always play the Saints on Monday night, I freaking hate it. I hate it so much.

by utahfalcon on Oct 24, 2009 1:18 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Gonna be a good game....

Maybe better tthan the Aints would like…

I have six locks on my door all in a row. When I go out, I only lock every other one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they are always locking three.

Elayne Boosler

by NaGaNole on Oct 22, 2009 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Pretty realistic

Odds-on picks every game, as it looks now. Even if we lose a “gimme” game, 11-5 is almost always a lock to make the tournament. It would be very impressive if the Falcons not only had consecutive winning seasons, but made the playoffs both years!

by tom slick on Oct 22, 2009 3:10 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Another goal to achieve...

We’ve never made back-to-back playoffs before.

You have opinions. We all do. Some of yours may have to do with the Falcons. Sign up today and share them.

by tlozwarlock on Oct 22, 2009 3:21 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Tell that to New England last year.

Chief Stalker/ Lead Paparazzi of the official Matty I Fan Club

Knowshon Moreno is actually the illegitimate chocolate son of Dan Marino. Its true!!! I have pictures!!!

Bender: Who wants dolphin? Leela: Dolphin? But dolphins are intelligent. Bender: Not this one. He blew all his money on instant lottery tickets.

Mike Singletary- "Our formula is this: We go out and hit people in the mouth."

by Farorefox on Oct 22, 2009 4:11 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

What about Frisco?
So far, the Falcons have not been able to get an extra-marquee road win (or, a road win at all, for that matter)

by zooker on Oct 22, 2009 3:45 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

As soon as we beat them

They ceased to be a good team. Apparently, we’re like the King Midas of crap.

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by Dave the Falconer on Oct 22, 2009 3:55 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Fixed.

I guess that SF win was so dominating, I felt I witnessed it personally in the dome.

You have opinions. We all do. Some of yours may have to do with the Falcons. Sign up today and share them.

by tlozwarlock on Oct 22, 2009 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I feel the Falcons will sweep the last 11 games on the schedule.

Will be fun to see

I expect a 31 to 24 win over the Cowpokes Sunday to start it off

by WarWolf on Oct 22, 2009 4:10 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Don't be so humble for your team. The cowboys are overrated, as they always are- and will be.

Chicago was a better team than the Cowboys.

Chief Stalker/ Lead Paparazzi of the official Matty I Fan Club

Knowshon Moreno is actually the illegitimate chocolate son of Dan Marino. Its true!!! I have pictures!!!

Bender: Who wants dolphin? Leela: Dolphin? But dolphins are intelligent. Bender: Not this one. He blew all his money on instant lottery tickets.

Mike Singletary- "Our formula is this: We go out and hit people in the mouth."

by Farorefox on Oct 22, 2009 4:12 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

cowboys

Falcon are a great team playing perfect but the cowboys have not played a blance quater.If they show up this weekend n if they play one complete balance half to their potencial . Curtains and yes they will show up. Jones alone will gain more than 100 yds. to began with. watch and c has a 10.1 average.

by vaquero on Oct 22, 2009 6:31 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I'm not a Falcons fan...

but prettty much any team that “shows up” and “plays balanced” will win. Unfortunately most teams don’t, and its not for lack of trying. There’s no off or on switch.

Chief Stalker/ Lead Paparazzi of the official Matty I Fan Club

Knowshon Moreno is actually the illegitimate chocolate son of Dan Marino. Its true!!! I have pictures!!!

Bender: Who wants dolphin? Leela: Dolphin? But dolphins are intelligent. Bender: Not this one. He blew all his money on instant lottery tickets.

Mike Singletary- "Our formula is this: We go out and hit people in the mouth."

by Farorefox on Oct 22, 2009 7:14 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Pretty much agree with these predictions...

The two games that concern me most on the schedule are this week at Dallas and the game in NY against the Jets, because they could so easily go either way. I’ve pretty much marked the Giants game and the 2 New Orleans games as losses (although i’ll be curious to see how the Giants progress – they looked terrible last Sunday), and all the other games are very winnable if the Falcons just play the way they have so far. Right now though, you gotta feel good about where the Falcons are. 4-1, the winning season looks to be in really good shape, and playoffs are definitely in reach.

The bad news about this season if you were hoping for a Superbowl run is that the Saints (in my opinion) just look too stacked this season. Yes, anything can change in an NFL season, whether it be injuries, complacency, etc…. we’ve seen it many times before. But assuming things stay as they are now, the Saints are a short term wall i’m not sure the Falcons can get around this season.

Having said that, they don’t really strike me as a long term threat we’ll be dealing with for years to come. They seem to be having one of those seasons where everything is just magically clicking, but I don’t see them as an incredibly well built team structured for the long haul the way the Falcons are. I’m not saying they are a flash in the pan, but when I look at how their team is structured, it just doesn’t seem like the kind of thing that’s going to sustain itself year in and year out like I think the Falcons will, which i think is a function of the difference between our front office and theirs.

However long their success lasts though, they look ridiculously scary right now…

by cheshire falcon on Oct 22, 2009 11:57 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

If the Saints had a tougher schedule...

then I’d have my money on the Falcons to overtake them. Look at who they play though: their only potentially hard games from here are us, Dallas, and NE…of course they get two freebies apiece from our other NFC South rivals, and they also play the Rams and the Redskins. If Miami doesnt pull one out against NO this week (a possibility I wouldn’t necessarily rule out), I don’t think we can match their record without beating them both times we play.

by Mountvillainy on Oct 23, 2009 10:25 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Saints play almost the same schedule we do

Except for home/road differences, and they play the Rams/Lions where we play the 9ers/Bears. (Oh, and they don’t have to play the Saints – but they have to play us twice). We’ve already won our games against the 9ers and Bears.

by vanb on Oct 23, 2009 10:54 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Saints schedule isn't nearly as hard as ours...

There are only two teams that are different on our schedules… the Saints get the Rams and the Lions, arguably the two worst teams in the league. We get San Francisco and the Bears, two respectable teams that both have a pretty good shot at making the playoffs. So that’s one huge difference.

Secondly, when you look at the teams that we both play, they totally get the advantage of homefield in the tougher games. They get to have NE at home, the Giants at home, the Jets at home, and the Cowboys at home. We have to be on the road for those games. The only team we both play that they get the short end of the stick on is the Eagles, as they had to go to Philly but we get them at home… but now i’m not sure that’s even matters as Philly suddenly looks terrible.

Finally the bye week advantage… we have to play a lot of these teams after their bye week, which the Saints don’t have to do.

by cheshire falcon on Oct 23, 2009 11:04 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Here's some numbers nobody asked for...

Aggregate Opponent Win % for all remaining games: Falcons .515, Saints .383.
Not counting Falcons vs. Saints games: Falcons .429, Saints .300.

There’s parity for ya, Pilgrim.

by tom slick on Oct 23, 2009 1:47 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

thats because

wehave already played the 5-1 giants and the 4-2 eagles and you havent

by simone219 on Oct 23, 2009 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

we play the same schedule

only difference is we get to play the falcons twice and you have to play the saints twice

geaux saints

by simone219 on Oct 23, 2009 3:15 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Wrong again!

Get your facts straight, Mr. Troll.

by tom slick on Oct 23, 2009 3:48 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I know one thing

Our defensive backfield better get some things worked out very quickly in this game since the Saints are the following week. I hate that we lost Williams but it’s time for Tye Hill and Jackson to step up now. I think our front 7 will be fine.
Our offense isn’t off the hook either. We’ve lost a couple of our explosive players to injury (Norwood and Douglas). And that makes a huge difference. The middle of our schedule is pretty brutal [Chicago(beaten), Dallas, New Orleans, Washington(wuss), Carolina, NY Giants, Tampa (wuss), Philadelphia and then the Saints again].

by Fear Me on Oct 23, 2009 10:48 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I think we'll have a surprise loss or two in there

But 10-6 or 11-5 would still be fantastic. Just erring on the side of caution.

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by Dave the Falconer on Oct 23, 2009 10:52 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

The Cowboys:

“They are not, however, the uber-elite team everyone claims them to be”
Wow, please, show me where you’re finding those claims. I need the Koolaid. Heh. If anything, most rankers seem to consider us LESS elite than our record would indicate (i.e., various rankings have us below some teams with a tied or losing record, and it seems almost all of them have us at the bottom of the 3-2 or equivalent teams)

God Bless Texas

by dwarfknight64 on Oct 23, 2009 11:04 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Cowboys fan here...

Wanted to say how much I am looking forward to this one. Hope the boys win but I am not so sure if they will.

Good luck and here’s to no injuries! I want you guys healthy when the Eagles and Giants come into town.

McGruber!

by Mojoness on Oct 23, 2009 11:53 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

nice to see a civil 'Boys fan

should be a great game and I always root for no injuries.

Thanks for stopping by.

know what you believe in and why you believe in it

by MentallyMIA on Oct 23, 2009 12:16 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Contrary to popular belief...

I surf most of the SBnation blogs, and maybe it’s just a function of how they’re run, but this blog and Blogging the Boys seem to be the most civil, as a general rule. Unsurprisingly, they’re also two of my favorites, even discounting the teams they cover.

God Bless Texas

by dwarfknight64 on Oct 23, 2009 12:21 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Ratliff will be

all in Matt Ryan’s clean shaven face Sunday. Miami runs a 34 defense and got 2 sacks….hmmmmm

by CowboyCurtis on Oct 23, 2009 3:20 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

um, no

I think not. How could he when he will be spending most of the day on his arse…???

Life is a garden. Dig it!

by Hardcore Falcon on Oct 23, 2009 3:32 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Who's gonna do it?McClure???

Get Real!! He’s too light in the arse!

by CowboyCurtis on Oct 23, 2009 3:46 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

They're still the only ones with any sacks

Don’t get too cocky just yet.

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by Dave the Falconer on Oct 23, 2009 8:24 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Dave

Is it just me or does every game we play seem like a statement game.

I'll Have A Matty Ice Please.

by IllHaveAMattyIcePlease on Oct 24, 2009 3:55 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Seems like it, doesn't it?

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by Dave the Falconer on Oct 24, 2009 11:38 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Dave,

You should be telling the author of this thread to not get cocky just yet. 12-4 record?? For a team that has never had back to back winning seasons, I would not look so far ahead. By the way, this is my third fav SBnation blog.(Bloggingtheboys and Talking Chop)

by CowboyCurtis on Oct 24, 2009 7:03 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Thanks!

I think he’s looking at games we have a realistic chance to win and coming out with that. I don’t really disagree. Given the unpredictability of the NFL season, I don’t think it’ll work out quite like that, but any team that isn’t 0-5 at this point and isn’t playing the Saints, Vikings, Patriots or Broncos still has a realistic shot at the playoffs.

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by Dave the Falconer on Oct 24, 2009 11:38 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Not cocky, just realistic

If I was publicly predicting results for each game, I’d do the exact same thing. You have to go with the odds. When you start getting cute and picking upsets here and there, you can look foolish pretty easily.

by tom slick on Oct 24, 2009 2:47 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

It's called season projections.

And every blog does it. So will we. I used to have this game as a loss but the boys have not impressed me, so I changed my pick next week.

It’s a testament to our turnaround that I’m actually projecting wins here. You should have seen me in 2007.

You have opinions. We all do. Some of yours may have to do with the Falcons. Sign up today and share them.

by tlozwarlock on Oct 24, 2009 4:48 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

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